TD Says Goodbye To Commission-Free Vanguard ETFs

TD Ameritrade roiled the investment community this week when it announced it was shaking up its commission-free ETF lineup across its entire brokerage platform. The highlights include an expanded number of funds available to trade and fewer restrictions on eligible accounts. They also dropped Morningstar as the advisor that selects the commission-free list, giving in-house management more control over which funds make the cut.

This type of expansive announcement is typically met with great enthusiasm by the advisor community. However, the biggest bombshell is that they are no longer offering Vanguard ETFs on their commission-free list. Yeah, you heard me right…NO VANGUARD.

*gasp*

Many consider it an unpardonable sin in this day and age to omit Vanguard from your preferred vendor list. It’s just not done under any circumstances and likely has many professionals thinking about how they are going to spin this angle to their clients.

This decision was likely due to a strategic business edict. Brokerage companies strike deals with certain fund companies to cover marketing costs and participate in revenue sharing models. Vanguard clearly didn’t fit into the picture, didn’t want to participate, or was excluded based on competitive reasons.

The important thing to remember is that Vanguard is the face of the index-fund movement, but they are not the only game in town. There are many solid fund providers out there that offer identical offerings at the same or cheaper expense ratios. You may not get every single index flavor that you had previously, but I would bet that you can find some very solid replacements in the new ETF list.

Headlining that list is a lineup of broad-based “portfolio” funds from State Street (the SPDR brand) that have extremely minimal expenses. All the traditional market cap and sector segments are represented, in addition to a few funds that you may not have known existed. It’s worth combing through some of these fresh faces to see how they match up to some of the funds you currently own.